Pope Francis warns against rise in populism

The Catholic chief leader, Pope Francis has warned that we be cautious of the increasing populism and the risks associated with letting political crises bring onboard dictators such as Hitler, reports BBC News.

His comments were made as US new President Donald Trump was being sworn in. However, they were not target to the 45th President of the United States but were part of a wide-ranging interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais.

The Pope did not agree with the usage of walls and barbed wires to block foreigners from entering any given country.

He however added that the time was still premature to begin judging “US new President.”

Mr. Trump has been controversial in his presidential run-up, with promises that he would build a wall on the Mexican border to keep out migrants.

Asked if he was worried about the rise of populism in Europe and the US, the Pope said: “Crises provoke fear, alarm. In my opinion, the most obvious example of European populism is Germany in 1933.

The Pope went on to describe the German situation before Hitler came into power. The country “was broken and needed to get back to its feet.” They needed a leader and a “young man named Adolf Hitler” showed up saying “I can, I can.”

The religious leader added that the German themselves voted in Hitler. He did not steal power but instead was legally elected. “And then he destroyed his people.”

When asked about Donald Trump, he said he would be patient and observe his leadership structure.

“I don’t like to get ahead of myself nor judge people prematurely. We will see how he acts, what he does, and then I will have an opinion,” said the Pope.

The two seemed to be parallel on a number of issues, with the Pope questioning Mr. Trump’s Christian faith over his plans to build a border wall with Mexico.